Mobile data traffic in 2016 will be equivalent to 17x the volume of the entire South African Internet in 2005

4. Device Growth

There will be 134 million networked devices in 2016, up from 83 million in 2011

There will be 2.6 networked devices per capita in 2016, up from 1.6 per capita in 2011

5. Broadband Speed Evolution

The average broadband speed will grow 2.6-fold from 2011 to 2016, from 2.0 Mbps to 5 Mbps

6. Average Traffic per User and Household

The average Internet user will generate 39.6 gigabytes of Internet traffic per month in 2016, up 754% from 4.6 gigabytes per month in 2011, a CAGR of 54%

The average Internet household will generate 128.4 gigabytes of Internet traffic per month in 2016, up 1,231% from 9.6 gigabytes per month in 2011, a CAGR of 68%

The significant level of traffic growth and service penetration is driven by a number of global factors, including:

An increasing number of devices: The proliferation of tablets, mobile phones and other smart devices as well as machine-to-machine (M2M) connections are driving up the demand for connectivity.

More Internet users: By 2016 there will be 3.4 billion Internet users across the globe – about 45% of the world’s projected population according to United Nations estimates

Faster broadband speeds: The average global fixed broadband speed is expected to increase nearly 4-fold from 9 Mbps in 2011 to 35 Mbps in 2016

More video: By 2016, 1.2 million video minutes – the equivalent of 833 days (or over two years) – will travel the Internet every second

Wi-Fi growth: By 2016 over half of the world’s Internet traffic will come from Wi-Fi connections

Leon Wright, Country Lead, Systems Engineering for Cisco had the following to say: “Times are certainly changing with Cisco projecting that the average Internet user in South Africa will generate 39.6 gigabytes of Internet traffic per month in 2016, up 754% from 4.6 gigabytes per month in 2011. The network is more important today than any time in history, as more and more people rely on it every day to live their lives and run their businesses.”